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Learn how to negotiate anything

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Everything is negotiable. The sooner you learn this, the better off you will be in your personal (and business) finances. But not everyone has a knack for negotiating. It’s a skill, a difficult one, that can be learned, taught, and must be practiced.

And whether or not you work in sales or are simply looking to take control of your financial destiny, learning the fine art of negotiating pays dividends. So we went out to find the best free advice for learning this essential skill online. Here is our top 10:

I will teach you to negotiate, to be rich – iwillteachyoutoberich.com is one of my personal favorite personal finance websites. (his book is damn good too…) And one of the most helpful things Ramit talks about is negotiation. From negotiating bank fees to salary negotiations, this page is a great place to start for anyone who is looking for insider tips, as well as practical (personal) applications, for this useful skill.

Negotiations by the English Club – englishclub.com put together a really nice introductory guide to negotiations, complete with vocabulary (with a quiz) and preparation guide. It’s a great general worksheet for anyone preparing for a negotiation, particularly for beginners.

The art of negotiating – Entrepreneur.com hits the nail on the head with this article. Simple, straightforward advice for anyone who is looking for some guidance for developing a winning negotiation strategy. Nice and general, this article focuses on the keys to coming to an agreeable and mutually beneficial comprimise.

Negotiation for sales– businessballs.com published this article on negotiation which mainly focuses on sales negotiations, but has valuable lessons for all types. Taking a cooperative partnership approach, rather than a confrontational one is what makes this article so helpful. Instead of looking at negotiations as a one-side-wins-all game, you’re instead looking for a mutually beneficial agreement.

Negotiation Strategy: Six Common Pitfalls to Avoid – From Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, this article presents six pitfalls that cause negotiations to fail and/or turn from your favor. It’s an especially helpful perspective as it highlights common mistakes even made by the seasoned professional.

5 things never to say while negotiating – along the same lines as the above article, Inc.com specifically highlights things that you should never say during a negotiation. Considering how tense these situations can sometimes be, just an intentional slip of the tongue can turn a negotiation sour. These tips may save you from this mistake some day.

Basic negotiating tips – Work911.com‘s article focuses on the basics, and quickly gets into what it calls the “barriers to successful negotiation”. Perhaps one of the more helpful things to learn how to do is get past that which slows or prevents a final compromise.

5 rules for negotiating anything – Gigaom.com‘s article, inspired by the Harvard Negotiation Project, developed these 5 (rather specific) rules cover a lot of ground for a successful negotiating process. And we agree, if you’re able to absorb these rules, you’ll be much better off during your next negotiation.

One key thing about negotiation – Ericsink.com makes a tremendous point in this article. The one key to negotiation is leverage, and that’s being able to walk away from the deal. When the other party knows you need them more than they need you, you’ve lost. Always have an out and make sure they ‘re aware of it.

Win-win negotiation, finding a fair compromise – Mindtools.com‘s article nicely sums up the common theme to the above articles: cooperation. Despite popular belief, it’s the mindset of the best negotiators on the planet. They’re not the most ruthless people, they’re the most agreeable. That’s how the game is played.